Broadcast networks and operators depend on commercials for revenue. However, commercials are produced and provided by many different entities and individuals. A commercial embedding within non-commercial normal program materials may have objectionable characteristics such as unreasonable loudness to many viewers/listeners. Given potentially a very large audience for its programs, a broadcast network or operator may receive a large number of complaints to commercials with objectionable characteristics that are in the programs.
To address these complaints as required by law and to comply with relevant viewer protection regulations, a broadcast network or operator may need to deploy significant human resources in monitoring its broadcast channels or media data bitstreams which the broadcast network or operator receives or sends/broadcasts. The information gathered through monitoring may be used to determine whether these channels or bitstreams contain commercials with objectionable characteristics in response to complaints or audits. It is questionable whether the problems with these commercials can be effectively identified, even when the broadcast network or operator spends a large amount of resources on monitoring its programs.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section. Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.